Name, Image and Likeness has been a hotly debated topic in the sports sphere for decades. After not allowing college athletes to make money from playing, the NCAA repealed the 'student-athlete' label in 2021. Top college athletes began earning upwards of millions of dollars. Now, in 2024, the Florida High School Athletic Association is following suit.
Florida just became the 36th state to ratify N.I.L. in high school. Athletes ages 14-18 years old are now allowed to sign endorsement deals, sell merchandise, get paid for appearances, and much more. The new rules are game changers for these young stars, however, there are still plenty of questions surrounding high school N.I.L.
“It’s a really big thing for high schoolers now," Barron Collier starting quarterback Niko Boyce said.
“It brings a lot to the game," Estero star running back Malik Allen said. "I like it.”
While many of the players in Southwest Florida share similar sentiments, the reality is many won't see the benefits of N.I.L. Georgia just launched it last year and only 0.02% of high school athletes signed N.I.L. deals in the first year. Only the extremely high level players who have strong social media followings will likely earn deals.
So, they are rare, but some in Southwest Florida are already in the works.
“There’s been a couple of people that have reached out for me and my brother," Lely starting quarterback Carter Quinn said.
N.I.L. is a fragile system, especially for young kids. One of the major points of emphasis in the FHSAA's arguments was that they will do all they can to protect the students from bad actors trying to take advantage of them.
“People are definitely going to use it in the wrong way, not like it was intended to be," FBA linebacker Logan Bartley said.
Many questions are still unanswered, even with the high school season right around the corner. How will N.I.L. truly be regulated? Will it impact recruiting? Does it benefit the more affluent schools, but hurt the places with fewer resources? What will it do to the quality of high school football in Florida?
“Hopefully it doesn’t affect the locker room," Barron Collier Head Coach Mark Jackson said. "That’s the biggest thing for me. That locker room is our family.”
To complicate things even more, coaches are in their own battle for higher pay right now. Head football coaches at public high schools in Southwest Florida only make around $5,000 on average for their football duties. So, through N.I.L., some players could make more than their coaches.
“There’s already talk with coaches in multiple districts about staging walkouts, sitting out the upcoming season," Florida Coaches Coalition Executive Director Dr. Andrew Ramjit said.
N.I.L. is a good thing for all of the hard-working athletes, but there are still plenty of implications and complications to iron out as football players retake the gridiron in Southwest Florida and beyond.